New Forest: lowland heath and commoning

Posted on July 14, 2014 by newforestcommoner
The New Forest is a landscape of irreplacable habitats that supports a diversity of wildlife.

The New Forest is a landscape of irreplacable habitats that supports a diversity of wildlife.w

For all its wilderness qualities the New Forest is an area that has actually been managed for over a thousand years. Generations of commoners, and their free-roaming ponies and cattle have maintained the landscape and, through their traditional practices, provided for a diversity of plants and wildlife. As a result the New Forest boasts many scarce species and habitats including lowland heath. Lowland heath has declined greatly in extent during the last two centuries – in England it is estimated that only one sixth of the heathland present in 1800 remains. The UK supports about 20% of the lowland heath in Europe and it is a habitat even rarer than tropical rain forest. The New Forest is a stronghold for lowland heath and the numerous highly specialised plants and animals that depend upon this incredible habitat. It is particularly important for reptiles, such as the adder, the rare sand lizard and the smooth snake. A number of scarce birds use lowland heathland as their primary habitat, such as the nightjar and Dartford warbler. Many scarce and threatened invertebrates and plants are also found on lowland heathland.

Heathland occurs on acidic, impoverished, dry sandy or wet peaty soils, and is characterised by the presence of a range of dwarf-shrubs, which include various types of heather and gorse. These natural resources have traditionally been harvested and managed by the commoners of the New Forest. Ling heather, particularly, had many uses, such as basket making, brushes and besoms, rope making, bedding, dye, fuel, thatching and wattle. The flowers could even be used to make a satisfying tea or heather ale. Bracken, which is also found on heathland was used for roofing, bedding for livestock or mixed into their feed for bulk. Even the prickly gorse could be harvested with care and was used for fuel or fodder during the hard winter months. It was widely regarded as a medicinal tonic and its flowers could also be used to make a popular variety of wine.

Improving standards of living and advances in farming, technology, and conservation techniques meant that the labour-intensive harvesting, predominantly by hand, and ancient land management practices, which maintained the heathland, were no longer necessary. Nowadays the preservation of the heathland continues to rely upon the grazing of the commoner’s animals but regular mechanical cutting of the bracken and controlled burning of vegetation is employed to mimic historical management practices. The free-roaming ponies and cattle prefer to feed upon the younger age classes of heather and gorse, so the management techniques of the heathland encourage new growth, which creates food for commoning stock but is also beneficial to a huge variety of flora and fauna. The utility of the heathland vegetation to the commoning way of life has ensured its survival and along with it the many species of insects, small mammals and birds. This cycle of management, which has lasted for hundreds of years, if maintained, will offer the New Forest heathland the prospect of relative ecological stability for many more years to come.

Heather is one of the dwart-shrubs that typify lowland heathland habitat.

Heather is one of the dwart-shrubs that typify lowland heathland habitat.

VIDEO: Majestic Heathlands – by Simon King/New Forest National Park Authority 

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New Forest: William the Conqueror and divine retribution

Posted on June 30, 2014 by newforestcommoner
The red deer is Britain's largest land mammal and it is a true native species and a resident of the New Forest.

William the Conqueror created the New Forest for royal hunting.

I was inspired to read more about William the Conqueror, after attending an event at the Chalke Valley History Festival (2014). Apparently after the Norman invasion, which followed the Battle of Hastings in 1066, he attempted to integrate with the English but the natives simply refused to act like a conquered people. So, he decided to get tough. Really tough. Constant rebellions in Mercia and Northumbria caused William to adopt tactics so merciless that the period, known as the ‘harrying of the north’, is infamous. So great was his wrath that men, women and children were slaughtered in their thousands and the devastation to the land was alleged to have been so great that it caused a famine, which lasted for nearly a decade. He began to ruthlessly subjugate the English people and replace the native hierarchy with his own. One historian went so far as to say that William I was so cruel to the English that men, women and children were left nothing but their eyes to weep with.

Forest Laws of Venision and Vert
No wonder then that the chroniclers associated the creation of the New Forest in 1079 with extensive depopulation and destruction of churches. But in this William I was probably unfairly accused. Modern historians believe that the topography of the Forest would not have been able to support large settlements, so there could hardly have been any mass evictions from the area on the scale alleged. Nevertheless he did impose ‘Forest Laws’ to protect the beasts of the chase for royal hunting. A court system and tier of officials, including Agisters and Verderers, were established to uphold and administer the legal framework. The laws of ‘venison and vert’ resulted in extreme punishments, such as blinding, having a hand cut off or even the death penalty for transgressors who were caught disturbing or poaching deer, felling trees, clearing forest land for agricultural use or fencing the land (even if the land belonged to them). After the creation of the New Forest the inhabitants were forbidden to do anything that would impede the chase during the hunt.

Death on the Forest
The English hated William I and his harsh laws, so it was seen as divine retribution when the New Forest claimed the lives of two of his sons and a grandson. Richard of Normandy perished by the effects of a ‘pestilential blast’ while out hunting; William II (Rufus the Red) was slain by a stray arrow, which had ricocheted from a tree after being fired at a stag; and, Richard, the Conqueror’s grandson, ‘met his death from having his hair become entangled in the boughs of a tree, as he was eagerly pursuing the chase’. Nevertheless, although hunting-mad William I had restricted the liberties of the Forest inhabitants he did compensate them, in a manner of speaking, by allowing their domestic animals roam freely to graze. In doing so ‘Rights of Common’ and the commoning tradition was established in law and practice, and the rest, as they say, is history.

King William II (Rufus the Red) was killed in a hunting 'accident' in 1100.

William the Conqueror’s son, William II (Rufus the Red), was killed in a hunting ‘accident’ in 1100.

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Shades, sleeping ponies and the dreaded New Forest fly

Posted on June 23, 2014 by newforestcommoner
In the heat of the day the ponies seek relief in areas known as 'shades' but not all of there are under trees.

In the heat of the day the ponies seek relief in areas known as ‘shades’ but not all of these areas are under trees.

The warm weather of late has driven the ponies to find relief from the sun and the heat of the day. They gather together in places known as ‘shades’ that, unlike the name would suggest, aren’t always under the cover of trees. Some of the shades frequented by the ponies are out in the open but will have a discernable breeze that keeps them cool. Often too you will see ponies lying flat out quietly snoozing in the sun. This surprises people, as they generally believe that horses and ponies sleep standing up. I’ve met several visitors who believe that they have seen ‘dead’ ponies on the Open Forest and I have no doubt that other commoners and the Agisters will have encountered the same concerns. However, if you wait quietly and watch the ponies as they sleep, for though they seem dead to the world, the occasional flick of the ear or even a slight lift of the head to have a look around will indicate that they have been in a deep slumber. Ponies can doze whilst standing but to get a really good rest they need to sleep lying down. In the herd environment one of the ponies will stand sentinel and keep a look out while the others lie down and rest.

Airborne pests
Flies are very active at this time of year and swarm around the ponies in great numbers. The ponies that roam freely on the New Forest have every opportunity to protect themselves from these airborne pests, unlike many of their domestic counterparts. The wild ponies can seek shelter in the gorse or under trees and act cooperatively to relieve themselves from the worse of the swarm. The herd will stand close together and accept the benefit of a companion’s tail to swot the flies away while one of their herd-mates receives the same from them. The ponies know where to stand when the flies are at their most tormenting and will seek out the insect-free breezes that criss-cross the valleys and hill tops even on the stillest days. Visitors to the Forest will notice that some of the ponies often stand beside the roads with their heads facing the traffic. They’ve learned that the back-draft from passing vehicles is also a good tactic for reducing pestering flies.

The dreaded Forest fly
The biggest menace in terms of flying insects that prey upon equines is the dreaded ‘crab fly’, or ‘Forest fly’ (Hippobosca equina) as it is also known, which is generally only found on the New Forest. These tenacious little devils cling on determinedly to their unfortunate hosts and travel, as one observer describes, by ‘making tracks under the ponies coat like a deer wandering through a field of corn’. I have heard tales of visiting horses being brought to the New Forest driven half mad with terror by the sensation, and normally quiet animals being rendered unrideable. Stories are even told of times past when New Forest ponies used for transport to other areas would inadvertently carry the flies away with them. As the flies moved onto the town animals all pandemonium would ensue, with the horses harnessed to tradesman’s vans, milk carts and drays bucking or bolting and causing widespread panic. The ponies born and bred on the Forest are accustomed to these pests and do not react so dramatically to them. Not all the victims of the Forest fly were equine though. Naughty Forest boys were said to collect them to put them in girls’ hair as a prank. However, although the Forest fly is a bloodsucker, most observers agree that its sideways moving method of travel is far more alarming to its host than its bite.

Ponies doze standing up but to get a really good sleep they need to lie down.

Ponies doze standing up but to get a really good sleep they need to lie down.

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New Forest: mining and pit ponies

Posted on June 16, 2014 by newforestcommoner
Commoning is a very sociable enterprise, wherever they get together.

In times past many New Forest ponies were sold for working in the mines.

I was interested in a recent news item (June 2014) that reported the potential re-opening of mines in Cornwall. The demand for metal in China and the developing world has inflated the price of tin making its recovery more profitable. Cornish mine owners are being tempted to revive an industry that was abandoned as uneconomic decades ago. Apparently the owners of some coalmines are also undertaking the same deliberations.

Relentless toil performed by ponies
Mining was an industry that was very labour intensive and ponies were recruited to work alongside the men deep underground. Thousands of New Forest ponies were among the ranks of other native breeds, including Shetland, Welsh and Dartmoor ponies to work in this demanding and dangerous industry. Pit ponies were not allowed to work in the mines until they were four years old and only stallions or geldings were generally used. They had to be sure-footed and strong, to cope with the heavy, relentless work. The temperament of the pony was very important, a good pit pony had to be even-tempered and gentle, as wilful or spirited horses were a danger to the drivers and could cause injuries to themselves and others, possibly with fatal results. New Forest ponies, with their easy-going manners and versatile natures, were ideally suited to the harness work required in the mines. Consequently the buying agents from the coalmines were regular visitors to the New Forest pony sales.

The treatment of the ponies
What you hear about the treatment of the ponies, as they toiled underground, will depend very much upon whom you speak to. The official version from the privatised mine owners, and then the nationalised Coal Board, would prefer you to believe that the health of every single pony was carefully monitored and that their well being was paramount. The miners themselves tell different and sometimes harrowing stories where profit was paramount not ponies. What is without dispute, however, are the strong bonds established between the miners and the ponies. Many stories are recounted of ponies saving miners and miners losing their lives to save their ponies during underground fires, cave-ins or other traumatic incidents.

Thousands of pit ponies working underground
According to the National Coal Mining Museum for England, the number of working ponies reached a peak just before World War I, with 70,000 ponies in 1913. After this the number declined, initially due to the demands of the War, and after that, because of the machinery that was being introduced. This meant that by 1932, only 32,000 ponies were used by mines. In 1947, the coal industry in the UK was nationalised. This made the process of modernisation quicker, and so fewer ponies were needed to labour underground. By 1962, only 6,400 ponies were used underground, and the number continued to drop. In 1978 there were only 149 ponies employed to work underground. A very small number of mines continued to employ ponies until the 1990s.

Reawakening of the mines
When the pits closed the mining communities were devastated. Many generations of the same families had worked underground.  Mining provided social and cultural identity as well as food on the table. The reawakening of the mines will certainly have implications for the communities that relied upon the jobs and economic benefits provided by mining.  I will watch with interest to see if the same reawakening has an impact on the demand for New Forest ponies to be, once more, colleagues and companions to the miners.

Thousands of New Forest ponies were used in the mining industry.

New Forest ponies were favoured because of their work ethic and kindly natures.

 

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New Forest: the benefits of nature

Posted on June 9, 2014 by newforestcommoner
The benefits of nature to human health and well-being have long been known.

The benefits of nature to human health and well-being have long been known.

Like most commoners I work full-time in a job that is not related in any way to the New Forest. Recently I’ve been travelling more and more to London for various meetings and events. Witnessing the hectic pace of city life on the capital’s streets is guaranteed to have me counting my blessings and being thankful for living in a quiet rural community. The benefits of living in the countryside have long been acknowledged and various studies have confirmed that exposure to nature, even in the form of a window box, is good for our physical, mental and emotional health. Communities that are bereft of greenery, in the form of trees, grasses and flowers, are also more likely to experience higher levels of crime, anti-social behaviour and poor health.

The exodus from the countryside initiated by the Industrial Revolution, which began in the mid-1700s, also signalled the divorce from knowledge of food production, animal husbandry and herb-lore. People moved away from the rural landscape to live in large cities or tight-knit communities surrounding the factories, mines and foundries where they worked. Such concentrated living conditions gave very little opportunity for interacting with the natural world. A consequence of this is that today we are faced with a reality where our species has the least engagement with plants and animals than it has ever had in the history of our evolution. No one knows what the long-term effect of this disconnection with nature will have.

For me such issues make the preservation of the New Forest, and the commoning activities that conserve it, a top priority. The Forest is an ancient landscape that has survived into modern times and maintains a diverse collection of irreplaceable habitats and wildlife species. The commoners of the New Forest have been practicing a pastoral way of life for over 1000 years and have an intimate connection with the landscape that has even been described as symbiotic. As I look out of the carriage window on my train journeys to and from London I see more and more housing or commercial developments gobbling up the land. Fields of crops, orchards and grazing land are being replaced by tarmac and block paving. I say a silent prayer to myself in the hope that our species does not become so divorced from nature that we believe we can do without it altogether.

City life moves at a hectic pace.

City life moves at a hectic pace.

 

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Stallions on the New Forest

Posted on May 26, 2014 by newforestcommoner

A stallion takes a drink – chasing mares is thirsty work!

There has been a lot of excitement on the New Forest recently due to the stallions being released onto the Open Forest. This is an annual event and, this year (2014), ten male ponies have been turned out to run with the free-roaming mares. The stallions are permitted to roam for four weeks only and thus have a short window of opportunity to provide the next generation of New Forest pony. Each stallion is carefully vetted by the Verderer’s of the New Forest and the New Forest Pony Breeding & Cattle Society to ensure that the best qualities, in terms of confirmation, temperament, stamina and such like, are passed on to the foals. Only stallions passing inspection are permitted to run on the Open Forest. By controlling the number released and the length of time each stallion is permitted to roam the Forest, it is hoped that the number of foals produced will be fewer but of better lineage and confirmation, and therefore in greater demand. This is how the population of the New Forest ponies is managed today – and not by culling, as happens in some wild horse populations in other countries – however, there were attempts in Tudor times to improve the breed by slaughtering smaller, under-height animals.

Census and slaughter of ponies
In the Horse Act 1540 Henry VIII decreed that an annual census be held at Michaelmas tide to weed out and slaughter “all unlikely tits whether mares or foals”, from which todays system of drifts derives.  The Act ordered that no stallion under 15 hands and no mare under 13 hands was permitted to run out on common land or run wild. However, the annual cull of “under-height” horses demanded by her father was partially repealed by Queen Elizabeth I in 1566, as it was recognised that the poor soils of the New Forest could not produce the grazing required to sustain larger animals.(The commoners had ignored the order to kill their ponies in any case.) Other attempts to introduce other qualities into the New Forest pony breed, such as speed, height or appearance, have included mixing in other native breeds, such as Dartmoor, Welsh and Exmoor, and even thoroughbred and Arabian horses. In 1765 the thoroughbred stallion, Marske was used on New Forest mares but when one of his foals, Eclipse, turned out to be a racing legend he was swiftly returned to racehorse stud duties.

Surviving on the Forest
In the Victorian era Arabian stallions were borrowed from the royal stud to sire foals with New Forest mares. This scheme did not prove popular with the commoners. The stallions found it difficult or even impossible to survive on the Open Forest, and so were used on stud farms to which most commoners mares did not have access. The commoners wanted a more robust influence on the New Forest breed and this they got in the form of the Forest itself. One commentator observed that the power of Nature tends to ‘grind down and assimilate these types to the one most suited to the land’. The New Forest pony makes the landscape and the landscape makes the New Forest pony. Although another observer remarked wryly that it wasn’t the fastest, best looking or even the noblest stallion that produced the future generation of New Forest foals. It was in fact the dirtiest fighter!

During the drifts ponies are checked for health.

During the drifts ponies are checked for health.

From Monday 19th May stallions were turned out on the Open Forest and will run with the mares until Monday 16th June. The areas with free-roaming stallions can be viewed on the following link: http://newforestcommoner.wordpress.com/2014/05/21/new-forest-stallion-areas-2014/

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New Forest Stallion Areas 2014

Posted on May 21, 2014 by newforestcommoner

Each year stallions are released onto the Open Forest to run with the free-roaming mares and sire the next generation of New Forest pony. The stallions are carefully selected by the Verderer’s of the New Forest and the New Forest Pony Breeding & Cattle Society. Only approved stallions are permitted to breed and will run with the mares for only four weeks. All stallions must be removed from the Forest by Monday 16th June.

The 2014 stallion areas are:
Name of stallion      –     Location

Applewitch Diversity – Ashley Fields

Halestorm Branston Pickle – Pilley

Portmore Downpour – High Corner / Broomy

Cadland Masterplan – Matley

Sturtmoor Top Hat – Hale Purlieu

Lucky Lane Rollo – Durhill

Sway Mister Blue Sky – Shirley Holmes

Walhampton Scholars Farewell – Moonhills

Ashdene Record – Wootton

Bakeburn Benny – Millyford Bridge

Stallions to be turned out on Monday 19th May

Stallions must be off the Forest by Monday 16th June

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New Forest: picnics and ponies

Posted on May 20, 2014 by newforestcommoner
The New Forest has been a favourite destination for al fresco dining for centuries.

The New Forest has been a favourite destination for al fresco dining for centuries.

The late spring and early summer is a much favoured time of the year for many Forest dwellers and visitor alike. It is the time when the lushness of nature returns to the Forest, our migratory birds have again taken up residence and there are many baby animals to be seen, particularly the foals. The sun also begins to make a more consistent appearance and the temperatures are beginning to rise. It’s the time for making merry and offers the first real opportunity of the year for socialising out of doors.

Take advantage of the sun
Because of the unpredictability of the British weather any sign of sunshine is virtually guaranteed to get people rushing out of their homes, with friends and family, and into the countryside or on the beaches to take advantage of it while it lasts. The New Forest is a favourite destination for such outings, where many visitors will also practice that most uncomfortable of eating ceremonies – the picnic. Dining out of doors on the New Forest has been practised for hundreds of years and was first associated with the medieval royal hunting parties. The King and his nobles would feast al fresco in great splendour and merry-making.

Picnics – scenery and excitement!
Modern picnics are associated with social entertaining or family gatherings and whether the fare consists of simple sandwiches and crisps or a bacchanalian feast they should always to be taken within the setting of beautiful scenery, such as a lake, river or forest. Picnics have been romanticised in fine art, literature and film, where social observations have been made, characters developed and plots revealed. These artistic endeavours often use the powers of nature to create further excitement – a plague of wasps, a thunderstorm or a charging bull. On the New Forest opportunistic ponies will often approach picnickers and create excitement of their own. These cunning ponies have long since learned that the sight of people sat on a blanket means that tasty treats will be for the offing. They have been encouraged in this belief by previous visitors who have shared their picnics and fed them.

Don’t feed the New Forest ponies!
Feeding the New Forest ponies, apart from being contrary to Forest Byelaws, is not good for them. The food they are generally offered is inappropriate to the diet of a herbivore. Ponies’ digestive systems are not designed to eat human food. Feeding titbits or picnic scraps can also encourage aggressive behaviour, such as pestering and even biting, which are characteristics damaging to the ponies’ reputation as a mild mannered family animal. Worse still feeding the ponies encourages them to hang around the car parks and road sides where they are at serious risk of being hit by vehicular traffic and killed or injured. However tempting it may be and however appealing they may look feeding the free-roaming ponies is not a good idea. The abundance of the Forest at this time of year means that the ponies will be provided with their own plentiful variety of al fresco dining.

Foals learn from their mother. Any bad habitats taught now, such as pestering picnickers, will continue all their lives.

Foals learn from their mother. Any bad habitats taught now, such as pestering picnickers, will continue all their lives.

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New Forest: the costs and benefits of commoning

Posted on May 12, 2014 by newforestcommoner

I’ve been doing a bit of sums recently and calculating the cost of being a commoner on the New Forest. I can tell you that it’s not cheap. After registering my mark, having my brand made, joining the New Forest Pony Breeding & Cattle Society and the New Forest Commoners Defence Association, paying my grazing fees and getting the Agister to brand my ponies, I’m rather out of pocket. Then of course I need specialist insurance to cover me if, God forbid, a hit and run driver should injure or kill one of my ponies; or in the event that someone leaves a gate open on the perimeter of the Forest and my ponies wander outside the area. Of course I’ve paid all this without yet having calculated the purchase price of a pony!

In the company of nature
Many of my friends think I must be mad to commit such hard earned resources to a project that, when I sell my first foal, will not yield any higher return than you’d pay for a round of drinks in the pub. But of course they’re missing the point. Nothing can be more rewarding than supporting a way of life that has been practised for generations, or in going out on the Forest looking for your stock and finding them safe and well. For me, riding or walking on the tracks across the heathland of the New Forest is just about the most perfect way to spend a few hours. Being in the company of nature, in all seasons and all weathers, is time well spent.

Less than favourable weather
This week the weather has been less than kind at times. On a very wet and windy morning I set out to find my mares. On days like these the only sight of other people I get are those of really hardened ramblers or dog-walkers. In these less than favourable weather conditions it seems to me that I generally have the Forest to myself. As I crested the rise overlooking the valley where the girls usually are I couldn’t see a single pony anywhere. I knew they’d be taking shelter but I wasn’t sure where. It was only a matter of time before I spied a pony inside a gorse thicket trying to shelter from the elements. I decided to walk around the thicket, which extended about thirty metres down the hill, to the side protected from the prevailing wind to see if my mares were there too.

Sentries at Horse Guards Parade
A peculiar sight greeted me as I rounded the end of the thicket. In a line snaking back up the hill were ponies at regular intervals all backed into the gorse. They looked like the sentries at Horse Guards Parade, in London, peeking out of their sentry boxes. The line consisted of black, bay, grey and chestnut ponies all tucked into the gorse and guarding themselves against the wind. Their thick tails were fanned out behind them to add an extra layer of protection and keep them warm. My two mares were among the herd and though wet, looked very well. I had been amply rewarded in my efforts to find them. My experience of commoning may have indeed cost money but in many ways has also left me much richer.

Ponies use gorse as food, shelter and a handy scratching post!

Ponies use gorse as food, shelter and a handy scratching post!

New Forest ponies know how to exploit the natural resources.

New Forest ponies know how to exploit the natural resources.

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The arrival of foals on the New Forest

Posted on May 6, 2014 by newforestcommoner
The next generation of foals born on the Forest follow an ancient lineage.

The next generation of foals born on the Forest follow an ancient lineage.

The month of May brings warm sunshine that transforms the Forest landscape. Everywhere nature stirs. The emerging foliage of the trees, hedgerows and heathland grasses blend in many shades of verdant colour. With the warmth and flush of new growth comes the birth of the next generation of New Forest pony. The foals represent the continuance of a native breed of pony that has been intimately associated with the area for thousands of years. There have been equines living in the vicinity of what is now known as the New Forest since before the last Ice Age; remains dating back to 500,000BC have been discovered within 50 miles (80 km) of its centre and other finds, such as the Linwood pot that shows a mounted rider, indicate established domestication of ponies from at least 300AD.

Walking in the Forest is always pleasure, but more so when there are foals about. All the ponies that roam the Forest are either mares or geldings (neutered males) and licenced stallions are only allowed on the Forest to breed, usually for four weeks any time between April to July. The Verderers’ byelaws stipulate that any colt foal, which ‘on the first day of February in any year is in the second or subsequent calendar year after its birth’, is not allowed to roam the Forest. All free-roaming stallions must be approved. The bloodlines of the New Forest pony are thus protected to ensure that the high standards of the breed are maintained. However, there have been many past attempts to ‘improve’ the New Forest pony either by removing smaller animals, as in Tudor times; by introducing other breeds of horses, such as thoroughbreds and Arabians, to make them more refined and showier as in Victorian times; and by mixing bloodlines with Dartmoor, Exmoor and even Highland ponies to reintroduce traditional native breed properties.

Even with all this mixing, improving and introducing of different qualities and bloodlines the New Forest pony tends to conform to a definite type. One commentator observed that the power of Nature tends to ‘grind down and assimilate these types to the one most suited to the land’. The New Forest pony is known as the ‘architect’ of the Forest because it shapes the land with its grazing and browsing activities. The landscape has, in its turn, shaped the pony making it hardy and versatile, able to withstand a life lived in the ‘wild’. With the onset of summer it will be no time before the next generation of foals born on the Forest will soon be taking their turn shaping and being shaped by the New Forest.

The New Forest ponies roam freely in small family herds.the mares.

The New Forest ponies roam freely in small family herds.

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